Timeline
MAJOR CAMPAIGN SPOILERS. NORMIES PLAYERS GET OUT REEEEEEE Since the gods first came to Avropa, five distinct ages of the world have gone by: the Age of Creation, the Age of Rivals, the Glorious/Godless age, and the Calamity. The events of our campaign take place in the 5th Age. Timeline 1st Age - The Age of Creation "Long ago, this world was one of tumultuous and chaotic forces. Naught but unbridled fires, and churning, saw-like rock made up its substance. Through the ashen skies of Creation Primordial, the gods came from beyond the ether, new and formless. Looking upon this roiling realm, they saw potential for great beauty, great strength, and the chance to learn their own place in creation." - Aurvandil the Seer The Age of Creation was the first age of Avropa. During this time, the gods brought forth creatures to inhabit Avropa, before splitting into two factions in the war against the Primordial Titans: the Prime Deities and The Fallen. The age ended with the defeat of the Primordials, and the sealing of many of The Fallen, which made the world safe for civilisation to flourish. The two major events of this era were the Prime War, and the Gods War. The Protean Creators During this first age, gods brought forth the elves, dwarves, and humans, along with as many other races as they had inspiration. Because the world was still a dangerous place, ruled by elemental chaos, many of their children were killed in the earliest days. Saddened by the loss of so many children, the gods gifted mortals with arcane magic so they might better defend themselves. The Dragons Metallic were created to aid in the defence of the Children of Creation. With the dragons' help, civilisation began to flourish and mortals first offered worship (and purpose) to their creators. The Primordials These Primordials had lain beneath the land since before the coming of the gods and now rose up to wreak havoc on the gods' creations. The primordial, with the exception of a few, fought the gods. Annam the All Father, a Primordial inspired by creation, created the Giants, and defected to the side of the Gods. The Primordials created Titans to fight the gods, but were overwhelmed. Dendar, the primordial night serpent, used the Iron Gate and ate the sun, making the world uninhabitable. Other Primordials, when close to defeat, created the abyss from the elemental chaos and their own being. The abyss' infinite layers of chaos have ever since fought the gods. The Prime Deities vs. The Fallen As the Primordials devastated creation, two factions arose between the gods. The Prime Deities wished to stay and conquer the Primordials, leaving the land safe for their children. The Fallen, were gods who for one reason or another, chose not to fight the Primordials. Some like Tharizdun, went mad, while others, such as Slerikek, embraced destruction of all, and some began twisting their creations and joining forces with the Abyss. Asmodeus and the other angels were created to fight the demons of the Abyss, so that the gods could concern themselves with Primordials and The Fallen. After eons of fighting the creatures from the Abyss, Asmodeus and his legions began to change, becoming similar to the demons they fought. With the Abyssal forces subdued, the Prime Deities, with the help of their mortal champions, ultimately destroyed the Primordials and banished the The Fallen from the Prime Material Plane. Peace With peace finally achieved, Pelor and the Seasonal Gods recreated the sun, which allowed the first true civilisation to take root. Asmodeus convinced the gods to sign a contract called the Pact Primeval, the first Great Compact. This contract allowed Asmodeus and his fellow devils to punish the souls of wicked mortals, and to extract magical energy from the souls under their care in order to fuel their powers. Otherwise, Asmodeus reasoned, they would have to be granted the powers of godhood in order to continue to contain the Abyss, which the current gods would surely find unacceptable. The gods, now, some under duress, now agreed the Pact Primeval. It agreed that mortals souls would be distributed to their gods by the Death God Nerull to the domains according to their nature, rather than to their maker. 2nd Age - Age of Rivals Glaciers recede. Much of the world is now habitable. Large empires form, backed by one god or another. Some gods reside on the Primer Material Plane and head their empires themselves. Raven Queen kills Nerull, ascends. Gods begin to fear mortals. (2nd Great Compact. Removed RQ portfolio of death. Merely a guardian of souls to the planes. She eventually assumes portfolio over fate and winter.) Gods begin to fear mortals and many withdraw. 3rd Age - Godless Age (Some scholars refer to this instead as the "Glorious Age") "Over time, some of the peoples grew arrogant. Seeing their arcane gifts as proof the gods held no sway over their fate, some began to believe that, with enough understanding, they could become as powerful as the gods themselves." The Age of Arcanum was the third age of Avropa. During this time, mortals tested the limits of arcane power, challenged the gods who had created them, and brought about the escape of the once-defeated Fallen. Arcane Ambition Mortal mages grew ever more powerful, building entire castles in a day and even learning to create life-forms of their own. Magic became the tool used to understand and manipulate the world. Lightning rail, skyships, and mechanical beings of metal and magic were created. Many new spells and magics were discovered by the famous Circle of Eight, led by Archmage Mordenkainen. The Circle enforced the Truth of Magic, their interpretation of the lawful and moral ways of using magic. Many mortals, fuelled by arcane power, began to abandon religious worship of the gods, Necromancy Vecna, a powerful mage, killed the Circle of Eight. Mages, now unconstrained by the Truth of Magic, freely experimented with unlife. Vecna and his lieutenants, or Thar's, became Liches, and led armies to conquer most of the world. They formed a council to find the lost secrets of ascension, a secret only one mortal had ever learned before. Vecna, when the moment of ascension was at hand, was killed by Kas, his right hand man. The Lich council, not held together by Vecna any longer, descended into the Phylactery Wars. MASSIVE SPOILER: Secretly, the Raven Queen supported Vecna in this quest, still angry at the gods for her demotion. This secret is one only she and Vecna know. One member, (firgure out which one lol), sought to harness the power of the Betrayer Gods to defeat his enemies. He broke open their prison, where they had been spawning hungry creations of their own, and released them back into the Material Plane. The Calamity The Calamity was the fourth age of Auvropa. The exact timeframe is uncertain, but it is known that Ioun, who was wounded during this age, has been recovering for at least 800 years. This age encompasses the second war against the Betrayer Gods, which devastated civilization and in some cases rearranged the geography of the world. The age ends with the defeat of the Chained Oblivion and the construction of the Divine Gate. Divine Warfare Most cities that had sprung up during the Godless Age were reduced to ash. Historians estimate that no more than a third of the world's population survived this war. The Raven Queen became powerful during this time, and assumed the portfolios of Fate and Winter. To end the war, the Prime Deities sought to banish Tharizdun, the Chained Oblivion. During their battle, Ioun, the Knowing Mistress, took a near-fatal blow, from which she is still recovering. However, the Rites of Prime Banishment were successfully enacted for the first time in history, and Tharizdun was vanquished. A Long Recovery In the end, the kingdom of Ghor Dranas was defeated and the Betrayer Gods banished once more, but now with the knowledge and fear that they could return again. While the mortal world recovered slowly from the devastation it had endured, the Prime Deities were left to ponder how they might prevent a third divine war. The Sealing Hoping to seal away the Betrayer Gods for good, the Prime Deities retreated from the Material Plane. The agreed another Great Compact: behind themselves and their defeated brethren, they erected a barrier known as the Divine Gate, which would prevent any god from physically crossing over into mortal realms. The departure of the gods from Auvropa, and the diminishment of their influence, was an event that has since come to be known as "The Sealing."